1991 Mercury 200Hp Offshore problem

[Haitiano1982]

Hi all,
New to forum / new to boating.

I recently bought a 2nd hand boat with a 1991 Mercury 200 Hp Offshore.
Initially it drove excellent. reached 93 km/h.

Going on water the 4th time, I get normal start - in neutral normal revving, but with load - it's not exceeding 2000rpm.
mechanic changed 1 x switch-box. seemed to have burned and half of the engine was working. (he didn't notice at first + i didn't)
(fuel lines were re-clamped - fuel stabilizer added - new fuel filter in the fuel water separator, no water visible)
after this repair, went for a test drive again and;
again, great start, runs smooth on idle, enters gear smoothly, fw-idle goes nice. once out of docks, im increasing power, but i reach max throttle lever and i'm not getting more then 2200-2300rpm. after running engine for 15 minutes total, of which maybe 3 minutes trying with power on - a warning alarm goes off (first experience with this alarm).


due to being completely new to boating, i would like some of your opinions, since i can't judge if the mechanic is beating around the bush for $

I would really appreciate some input of the alarm as well and what i can look at.

thanks!

 

[bilge rat jim]

Re: 1991 Mercury 200Hp Offshore problem

I think you may want to consider finding a tech who is more experienced with V6 Mercs. A couple of things- your mechanic couldn't identify immediately that the outboard was only running on 1/2 the cylinders? Must have been having an off day. He/she should also have known that when replacing switchboxes on a V6, you should always replace both. I would start by buying an inline spark tester, set it at 7/16", and test for spark on all cylinders. As to the alarm, a continuous alarm usually indicates an overheat, was the alarm continuous or intermittent?

 

[Haitiano1982]

Re: 1991 Mercury 200Hp Offshore problem

Hi again.
It was a continious alarm. I did think of something along the lines of an overheat situation. Looked at the back and confirmed the engine was actually discharging a good water jet for cooling.